Spirit ofINDIA Youth Special

MOBILISE AND EMPOWER

“IT IS ENOUGH IF ONE

FIGHTS EVEN FOR A SMALL
cause like protecting a paddy
field. It would be a lot of help to
society and nothing can be
more fulfilling for oneself too.”
SUSAN THANKAPPAN, P O L I T I C A L
A C T I V I S T , 40

MADAN

“THE CASTE SYSTEM IS LIKE

TOLSTOY’S OLD MAN, WHO
sympathises with his poor bearer
but will not get off his shoulder.”
S H R U T I N A G V A N S H I , 34, A N D L E N I N
R A G H U V A N S H I , 38 , S O C I A L W O R K E R S

t was the case of the 17-year-old Dalit bonded labourer,

I Nageshwar, who was being branded by a feudal land-

lord near Varanasi, which changed their lives. Shruti
Nagvanshi, 34, and Lenin Raghuvanshi, 38, decided to
fight for his cause. A year later, having rehabilitated him,
they set up the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human
Rights in Varanasi to work against untouchability.
Raghuvanshi, a doctor, has been working with Nagvanshi,
who has focused on women, children and Dalits. They “WE CAN CHANGE
have handled 350 cases and resolved 200 of them. Their THE WORLD
resources are meagre and they rely on donations from
agencies like Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and CRY. Despite this,
ONLY THROUGH
they have managed to amplify the voice of the margin- INDIGENOUS
alised in national and international forums like the knowledge, not
Peoples’ SAARC. Their work has met international recog-
nition such as the Gwangju Human Rights
through borrowed
Award in 2007 from the May-18 Founda- ideas. Plans
tion of South Korea and the ACHA and policies must
Peace Star Award by the US-based
Association for Communal Har- be drafted keeping
Role
Model mony in Asia. Married in 1992 in mind the need
with a 10-year-old son, the cou- of the community.”
Raghuvanshi’s grandfather
Shanti Kumar Singh, a ple has six full-time dedicated
Gandhian freedom fighter, staff and 30 consultants. Right UTKARSH SINHA,
who used to say that now, they are focusing their at- S O C I A L W O R K E R , 34
grassroot politics is tention on the struggling weavers
the future. of Varanasi, who are facing death
and starvation. by Farzand Ahmed

50 INDIA TODAY ◆ APRIL 20, 2009